Stage 2 - When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Gets Going
by freechampismyotp
Summary: Rita is now 6 months pregnant, and her whole life is being turned upside down. What happens when Connie's vulnerabilities get the better of her and a catastrophic car crash leaves the women in pieces. THIS IS A SEQUEL TO STAGE 1 - GETTING STARTED! FREECHAMP!
1. Soap Suds and Kicking?

Connie rolled over in bed, smiling as she saw a 6 month pregnant Rita sprawled across the bed.

It had been nearly 4 months since the 2 women had 'outed' themselves to the rest of the ED. Both women had been completely overwhelmed by all of the support, congratulations and help they had received from everyone in the ED.

Even Cal had stopped trying to flirt with Connie, which she appreciated massively.

Connie wriggled closer to her girlfriend, blowing a stream of cool air on her face.

Rita scrunched up her nose, rubbing it gently before her big brown eyes fluttered open.

"Morning beautiful, morning bump…" Connie pushed herself in the bed slightly, enabling her to lean over and kiss Rita gently.

"Morning…" Rita yawned, rubbing her swollen stomach and grinning as she remembered the tiny life that was blossoming inside of her.

Rita had been graced with a relatively easy pregnancy.

She had had small bouts of morning sickness, but nothing compared to what Connie said that she had with Grace.

But the pregnancy left Rita feeling almost constantly tired, which also meant she was always grouchy, but Connie just teased her and told her she was even cuter when she was grumpy.

"How did you sleep?" Connie asked, Rita shrugging as she rubbed her eyes.

"I miss my morning coffee." She grumbled, finally summoning up the energy to sit up and make her way to the bathroom.

Connie smiled, Rita was a dedicated caffeine addict, much like herself, giving up coffee being one of the more difficult things to do.

Connie rolled out of bed, following Rita into the bathroom, where Connie proceeded to strip and climb into the shower.

"I'd ask you to join me… But your bump…" Connie teased, Rita being relatively small meant that as her bump grew outwards she looked much larger than she actually was.

"You insult me like this Beauchamp, and somehow I still love you!" Rita called over the noise of the spray, splashing some water over her face.

"CONNIE!" Rita suddenly screamed, Connie stumbling out of the shower, conditioner still in her hair and no clothes on.

"Are you ok? Is it the baby?" Connie asked, wiping the soap from her eyes and crossing her arms to see Rita smiling.

"It kicked! The baby kicked!" Rita exclaimed, holding her hand on her bump as she could feel the little baby kicking.

"Don't stand there like a goof, feel!" Rita pulled Connie's damp hand onto her now exposed stomach, Connie beaming from ear to ear as she felt the little foot make contact with her hand.

The two women eventually got over the shock of the baby's now more aggressive movements, Connie re-entering the shower and washing the suds from her body before joining Rita downstairs for breakfast.

Both women were now dressed, and Rita was sat at the table with one of Connie's cases in her hands.

Since turning 6 months pregnant Connie had banned her form resus, fearing that Rita could get injured herself or run herself to exhaustion, but this certainly did not stop the young Nurse form peering over her partner's cases ad trying to wriggle in on them.

"Thank you." Connie swiped the file, Rita pouting as Connie tidied up her stack of paperwork and ditched it into her bag.

"Those are not yours. So I was thinking, tonight, me, you, takeaway…" Connie stopped as Rita rolled her eyes, tutting as Connie back tracked and tried to think of whatever it was she had obviously forgotten. "And what exactly am I missing now..?" Connie asked tentatively.

"Tonight's my baby shower!" Rita huffed, seeing Connie's almost unreadable expression on her face.

Connie was still very socially awkward around a lot of people.

Since her and Rita had started dating she had become slightly more comfortable around the staff from the ED, but she still would prefer to either be their boss OR their friend, she found it hard to draw a line between the two.

Rita admired her ability to try anything that would make Rita happy, but Rita still understood that Connie liked being their tough Clinical Lead, rather than their friend's girlfriend.

"You don't have to come." Rita softened her voice as Connie brought her over a bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice.

"I'm coming silly, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Connie grinned half-heartedly, placing a meaningful kiss on Rita's forehead. "I can't say I'll enjoy it, but as long as you are there…" Connie tried a bit harder to smile this time, Rita really appreciating her effort to join in with her busy social life.

"Well, I am the guest of honour!" Rita laughed, turning serious as Connie looked deep into her eyes. "I love you Constance…" Rita pursed her lips as Connie's cheeks turned a dark shade of red.

"I love you too, even if you do enjoy teasing me about my name…" Connie chuckled.

"I like you name…" Rita protested.

"I know, let's agree to disagree." Connie stopped the argument there, knowing there would be no winner to the pointless argument.

They were eventually ready for work, Connie in her infamous louboutins and Rita in her infinitely more comfortable converse.

They drove to work, sharing small talk about work.

"You know, they've got a bet on when the baby is born…" Rita smiled, Connie shaking her head, already in work mode, not enjoying the playful nature of her 'subordinates', which Rita pleaded her not to call them.

"That is unprofessional and…" Connie started her rant as the pulled onto the car park, Rita placing a hand on her knee to stop her.

"It's just a bit of fun Con, smile." Connie grimaced as Rita laughed at her pathetic attempt. "I love you."

"Love you too." Connie kissed Rita's lips, before exiting the car, the women entering the ED hand in hand.

They said another, less elaborate goodbye at Connie's office, Rita making headway for her own office.

Rita quickly got changed into her, now extremely large, scrubs.

But she decided that she need to crack on with her paperwork, as she had been desperately putting it off for the past few days and a giant mound had built up on her small desk.

Rita was part way through her fourth file when she heard a loud knock at the door.

"Hey squirt!" Dixie barged in, Rita smiling to see her best friend entering her office. "How are you? And little bump of course!" She smiled, sitting on the edge of Rita's desk.

"Yeah, we're ok actually. Although you know that bet you've got going on about when bump is going to make an appearance?" Rita asked, Dixie nodding, unsure as to where this was going. "Connie isn't too keen on it, surprise surprise, so just keep it on the down low, yeah?"

Dixie nodded, laughing at the ice queen's peculiar ways.

"So you all excited for tonight?!" Dixie asked, her, Jeff and Robyn had been chief organisers for Rita's baby shower.

"Of course, what time do you want me there?" Rita asked, not wanting to be there too early and make Connie partake in the small talk, which she found so painful and unnecessary.

"About 6ish? Most people should be there by then. Oh my God, I can't wait to give you my gift!" Dixie squealed, quietening down as she heard heels approaching behind her.

Dixie swiveled around to see Connie walking into the office, two packets of sandwiches in her hand, and two bottles of water.

"Mrs B." Dixie nodded her head, Connie managing a half smile as Dixie stood up, brushing down her jumpsuit. "I'll see you later Reets." She called, before leaving the office.

"You could at least say Hi?!" Rita sighed as her socially inept girlfriend sat beside her on a separate chair.

"Hi." Connie smirked, kissing Rita's lips.

"That is not what I meant and you know it!" Rita tried to be serious but she ended up laughing at Connie's scrunched up face and nose, Connie joining her until they both require breath and were forced to find something less amusing to think about.


	2. Baby Shower!

The end of the shift finally came around and Rita went to find Connie, who was studiously pouring over several cases.

"Hello..?" Rita knocked on the open doorframe, Connie looking up to see it was Rita.

"Hi." She smiled, beckoning Rita over to stand by her. "How was your day?" Connie asked, taking hold of Rita's hand, as Rita shrugged her shoulders.

"Not so bad, although I am never letting my paperwork get that bad ever again!" Rita swore, but Connie just shook her head.

"You say that every week." Connie teased, folding up the files and grabbing her coat.

The drive to the baby shower was quick, and they sat in a comfortable silence, Connie trying to generate a few 'small talk' topics to help her try and get herself through the evening.

She looked over at Rita who was humming along to the radio, one hand rested on her stomach, a pinkish glow in her skin, indicating her pregnancy was healthy and she was enjoying every second of it.

They entered the hall together, Connie's hand interlinked with Rita's.

A huge smile was plastered on Rita's face as loads of the ED staff came up to her.

Her hand was pulled from Connie's as everyone hugged her, snapping hundreds of photos, a happy chatter filling the hall as Connie slunk backwards to get herself a soft drink.

Charlie appeared beside her as she started to sip on her 7up.

"How are you?" He asked, knowing everyone, including Connie, had been constantly asking Rita if she was ok, Connie had kind of slipped into the background.

"I'm fine." She assured him. "I just don't really enjoy these kind of things…" Connie admitted, Charlie nodding his head.

"I know, but you're here to make Rita happy, and she really appreciates that." Charlie told Connie who nodded.

"I know, she is so amazing." Connie managed a smile, watching Rita who was still being bombarded by hugs and kisses from everyone at the ED.

It was eventually the time to open the presents, Rita called Connie over to sit next to her, Connie excusing herself from Charlie's presence and sitting down next to her girlfriend.

"OK, since my present is the best, you can open mine first!" Dixie had made her way to the front of the group, handing Rita three small packages.

"Here Con, you open one." Rita handed Connie a package, Rita tearing into the first one.

Both Rita's and Connie's eyes both lit up as they saw what was contained in the small packages.

Dixie had given them a baby sized pair of Doctor scrubs, Nurse scrubs and a paramedic jumpsuit. A smile was plastered on Connie's face as she looked up at Dixie's expectant face.

"They're gorgeous." Connie said, Rita nodding as she folded them back up and placed them next to her.

The two women enjoyed the next hour opening many packages of clothes, toys, books, blankets and so much more than they really needed.

"And now, for the best presents of all!" Robyn shouted above everyone, the whole room falling silent as Big Mac, Cal, Ethan and Ash carried two large parcels through.

"You can't have a baby shower without a cot and changing table!" Dixie smiled, Rita standing up and hugging Dixie.

"Thank you so much, thank you everyone." Rita smiled at everyone, before hugging Dixie again. Connie also stood up, standing next to Rita.

"You have all been very generous." Connie nodded, taking hold of Rita's hand as Rita let go of Dixie.

Connie's small sports car wouldn't fit the 2 large parcels in, so Dixie offered to put them in her car and follow behind the couple, to drop it off.

"We can start painting the spare room." Rita smiled, as Connie pulled off the car park, making sure Dixie was following behind them. "We should paint it a neutral colour, then it won't matter if it's a boy or girl…"

Rita stopped rambling as she saw Connie was only half listening, she seemed to be in a world of her own.

"Con, are you ok?" Rita asked, her girlfriend was usually just as excited as her when they talked about the baby, but Connie seemed withdrawn and almost upset.

"Can we not do this now?" Connie asked, looking over at Rita who furrowed her brows, but nodded anyway.

"Ok, I love you." Rita smiled at Connie, who moved her hand from the gear stick to Rita's leg.

"I love you too." Connie nodded, removing her hand and continuing the rest of the journey in silence.

Dixie quickly unloaded her car at Connie's house, Rita hugging her again and thanking her for such a lovey evening.

Rita finally made it inside, where Connie had already made herself and Rita a cup of tea.

But Rita walked past the cup of tea and walked into Connie's arms. Connie had taken off her heels, so her and Rita were a very similar height.

Connie held her tightly in her arms.

"Please tell me why you're upset?" Rita asked, Connie shook her head.

"I don't want to ruin the evening." Connie said.

"You being sad is ruining my evening." Rita said, taking Connie's hand and leading her into the longue.

They sat down on the sofa, sitting opposite one another so they could talk.

After they got together, one of the first ground rules they established was to be completely open to one another about everything.

They saw how devastating bundling up emotions had been, it had almost landed Connie in prison on a murder charge for goodness sake.

They had decided that talking about everything seemed to keep their relationship healthy, which was especially vital now they were having this baby together.

"You have to tell me what's bothering you sweetheart." Rita looked at Connie who was biting her lip.

"I'm just jealous, of you…" She sighed, Rita shaking her head disbelievingly.

"I share everything I have with you, what are you jealous of?" Knowing it wasn't a simple object which Connie was jealous of, it was probably something much deeper.

"Everyone loves you, I mean everyone." Connie took Rita's hand. "And that is so amazing, everyone gives you so much love, and so much support. But when I was pregnant with Grace I didn't have anything like this. I can't help but think if I did, maybe I would've done a better job at bringing her up… I mean this baby is already so loved, and it's not even born yet." Connie's voice caught in her throat as she talked about her daughter.

"You did an amazing job at bringing up Grace, of course things would have been different, but regardless of that Grace is still an amazing young girl, and that is all thanks to you." Rita told Connie who shook her head.

"It's just not fair sometimes. I miss Grace." Connie started to cry, Rita wriggling closer to her and kissing her cheeks.

"You know Grace is coming to visit in a few months, and I know that seems ages away. Please don't cry?" Rita started to cry as well.

She felt like she was partly to blame for Connie's sadness.

She was the reason they hadn't invited Grace over sooner.

Rita had wanted to have the baby before Grace came back over, she felt like when she was more heavily pregnant it would be less fun for Grace to come and stay, as she would become grumpier and Connie would be too busy worrying over her, rather than having fun with Grace.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I love you so much." Rita rubbed Connie's back.

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault." Connie pulled back, placing a hand on Rita's face. "I am so excited for this baby, I just wish you were there when Gracie was born."

"Me too." Rita nodded.


	3. I Wish You Were There

The next morning and Connie was in a much better mood, but both women were slightly tired.

Neither slept well the night before, disturbing one another before finally snuggling off into a restless sleep.

Connie sipped happily at her coffee as Rita made herself and Connie sandwiches for lunch.

"You finishing at normal time today?" Rita asked as she passed Connie her packet of ham salad sandwiches.

"Hopefully, why?" Connie asked as Rita let out a huge yawn. "You want to come home and go straight to bed?" Connie guessed, Rita nodding, smiling at how well Connie could read her mind.

They made it to work, Rita making note of her achievement for not falling asleep in the car.

The two women kissed goodbye, Rita seeing several people from last night and thanking them for their lovely gifts.

Rita once again cracked on with her paperwork, trying to get through it as quickly as possible so she actually had some more time for actual patients today, rather than those she had already seen and discharged.

She had just finished the small pile of paperwork and was about to reward herself with a cup of tea, when Charlie rushed into her office.

"We need you in cubicles." Charlie told Rita.

She pushed herself up from her chair as quickly as possible, dashing after Charlie who led her to where she was needed.

"Connie?" Rita questioned as she saw her girlfriend sat on the bed, pushing away Tess and Cal who were desperately trying to treat her.

She had a large gash on her upper arm, a very red cheek and a series of small scratches on her neck.

"Rita, I'm fine, I told you not to go and get her!" She seethed at Charlie, who put his hands up and edged out of the cubicle.

"You need your arm stitched up." Tess told Connie who shook her head.

"I'm fine, will you all just let me get on with my job?" Connie begged, looking to Rita who smiled sadly.

"I'll make sure she gets sorted, leave the stuff, ok?" Rita asked, Cal sighed, throwing his gloves in the bin.

"You make sure you stitch that arm up." Tess said to Rita who nodded.

"What have you been up to?" Rita asked, placing her hand on Connie's shoulder and getting her to lie down on the bed.

"Will you just let me go and finish treating my patient?" Connie asked, trying to gently push Rita away.

"No I will not. Connie, people are trying to help you and you just keep pushing them away." Rita told her, reaching up for a pair of gloves and snapping them on her hand.

She then carefully wiped the large cut on Connie's arm with a piece of sterile gauze.

Connie winced, biting her lip as Rita investigated the wound, to make sure that it wasn't contaminated.

"You want some anaesthetic?" Rita questioned, but Connie shook her head bravely.

"What happened then?" Rita asked, trying to distract Connie from the pain of her piercing the needle through her skin. "Connie, I will pester you about this until you start talking." Connie sighed, knowing Rita wasn't lying.

"Just a patient, it wasn't his fault. He has autism, and he didn't like so many people touching him, but he took it all out on me." Connie said, closing her eyes as Rita inserted the needle again. "I don't mean to push everyone out, I'm just not used to it…" Rita nodded, she knew Connie's vulnerabilities all too well.

Connie had confided in Rita about her childhood, where she had constantly felt out of place, like she didn't belong.

She had struggled with anxiety and mild depression when she was younger, and even in her early 20's.

Medicine had given Connie the platform to be who she wanted to be, the confident, sassy woman she was today.

But Rita was familiar with Connie's alter ego, which resurfaced only when she was alone, or with Rita.

It was the part of herself Connie hated the most, but she sometimes found it impossibly difficult to keep it at bay, Rita always there to help her deal with the aftermath.

"I love you Connie, all of you. I will always be here for you, just remember other people are as well." Rita finished the stitching wrapping a piece of bandage around the arm and checking none of the smaller cuts were infected or in need of any other treatment. "You are all done." Rita kissed Connie's cheek, then holding Connie close.

"I love you too." Connie smiled, pulling back and standing up. "Back to work Nurse Freeman." She teased, Rita raising her eyebrows and folding her arms on top of her bump.

"I see how it is, Mrs Beauchamp." Rita tipped her rubbish in the bin, before walking out of the cubicle.


	4. Just Cuts and Bruises?

A few days later and Connie received a phone call from the hospital board, they requested that a team of medics, including her, their Clinical Nurse Manager, another Doctor and a paramedic attended a conference.

Where they would share techniques which they used in the ED to make it as efficient as possible.

Connie had tried to dissuade Rita from attending, telling her she would be of more use at the ED, but Rita brushed off her tone of concern, saying her and the baby might enjoy a day somewhere different for a change.

The following morning arrived and Connie, Rita, Dixie and Ethan were all ready to go.

Initially Connie was going to drive, but she quickly passed on this job to Ethan, insisting she needed to sit in the back with Rita.

Dixie called shot gun, even though she didn't really need to, as Connie and Rita had already agreed to sit in the back.

"Well this is going to be fun!" Dixie drawled sarcastically, Connie just rolling her eyes as she made sure Rita was buckled in safely.

"And away we…" Ethan stopped his little cry as the car stalled, and he had to restart the engine.

Dixie supressed her laughter and Connie rolled her eyes once again.

They were finally on the road, Dixie half directing Ethan, half discussing, with Rita, why Dixie would be a perfect middle name for her baby.

Rita was just laughing at Dixie's suggestion of calling her baby something beginning with an A, so Rita's, Connie's and the baby's initials would spell CAR, when suddenly a van smacked into the side of the car.

The car started to roll, Connie desperately trying to reach out to Rita who was screaming in her seat.

The car finally came to a standstill.

The car was on it's side, Rita and Ethan were on the floor, Connie and Dixie suspended in the air, only held up by their seatbelts.

"RITA!" Connie screamed as she saw the young Nurse sprawled on the floor, all Connie could think of was checking Rita and the baby were alive.

"RITA, PLEASE?!" Connie looked around, desperately thinking of a way to get down without hurting Rita any more.

"Connie…" Dixie reached her hand backwards, clutching onto the Clinical Lead's shoulder. "Just take a second, I can brace myself on the dashboard and climb down. I'm going to check Ethan, then I'll check Rita." Dixie said, Connie shaking her head, pushing Dixie's hand off her shoulder.

"Check Rita first." Connie stated.

"She's breathing, I can see she's breathing… I can't see Ethan breathing." Dixie explained, Connie finally nodding.

"Ok." She whispered, watching as Dixie braced her feet on the dashboard and unclipping herself. She then lowered herself down next to Ethan. "He's gone." Dixie whispered, Connie covering her face as she let out a strangled sob.

Dixie stood up, taking Connie's hand in hers.

"We're going to be ok. Just cuts and bruises me and you, ok?" Connie nodded, grateful for Dixie's calming hand in hers. "We are the strong ones, I'm going to check Rita. Here's my phone…" Dixie reached into her pocket and handed it to Connie. "Phone ambulance control, they'll get the closest available unit here ASAP."

Connie's trembling hands dialled 999, relaying their situation as Dixie knelt down next to the unconsciousness Nurse.

"Hey squirt." Dixie had clambered over to the back seats, looking up at Connie every now and then, as she was still suspended by the seat belt. "Her pulse is good Connie, but she's bleeding…" Dixie couldn't find a cut which could contribute for the amount of blood lost, so could only assume it was one thing.

"It's the baby." Connie dropped the phone, it landing next to Rita's body. "Get me out Dixie, I have to be next to her if she wakes up. Get me out!"

Connie was thrashing against the seat, Dixie knowing there was nothing they could do until the ambulance crew got here, so she decided to try and get herself and Connie out of the car, in an attempt to calm Connie down.

"The ambulance is on it's way, but what if it doesn't…" Connie was panicking big time, Dixie cutting her off before she caused herself any more damage.

"Ok, give me a second." Dixie climbed back into the front, opening the passenger door upwards and climbing out. "Take of your heels, carefully, and don't drop them." Dixie called as she slid open the back door.

She took Connie's shoes off her and threw them on the ground outside.

"I'm not leaving her Dixie. What if she wakes up?!" Connie was hysterical, Dixie was really worried she would break the seatbelt and fall on Rita.

Dixie made the brave choice of grabbing hold of Connie.

"Unbuckle yourself." Dixie shouted at her, hoping to scare her into unfastening herself. "Do you want to hurt Rita?!" She screamed, Connie sobbed whilst shaking her head, unclipping herself and allowing Dixie to pull her out of the car.

They were both now sat on top of the car, Dixie holding Connie tightly in her arms as she cried to be set free, but Dixie refused.

The ambulance sirens could finally be heard, Jeff and Iain stepping out of the ambulance.

Jeff shouted to Iain to hurry up as he saw Dixie sat on top of the vehicle.

"Dix?!" He shouted, shocked to see Connie in his arms. "Oh no, Rita…" He sighed, keeping his voice down as he approached.

He opened his arms, Dixie gently lowering Connie down, Jeff catching her as she almost plummeted to the ground, making hard contact with the tarmac.

"Jeff, it's Jeff." Jeff pushed Connie carefully against the back of the car, allowing her to get her balance and gain her bearings.

Connie started to cry again, placing her hand in front of her face.

He quickly assessed her, the arm in front of her face seemed badly damaged, she had a burn on her shoulder from where the seatbelt had been restraining her and she had a small amount of blood o n her face, from the small cuts which were presumably from some broken glass.

"It's alright, you ok?" Jeff asked, Connie nodding, refusing to move her worried hand from in front of her face.

"It's Rita…" She whispered breathlessly, Jeff taking hold of her hand from in front of her face, Connie half wincing, but trying to ignore it. "Please, it's Rita and the baby."

Connie was shaking, Jeff could see movement from inside the car, Dixie was moving around but it seemed like there was someone else now.

"Connie…" Connie turned to hear her name being called, the voice was familiar but it was in so much pain, and so raspy Connie could barely make it out. "Dixie please..?"

Connie immediately recognised it as Rita.

Jeff didn't let go of her Connie's hand, not letting her climb back onto the top of the car.

Connie was starting to hyperventilate, Jeff making her sit on the floor.  
"Iain, get inside the car, assess and get her out quickly!" Jeff said, trying to get Connie to slow her breathing. "Dixie and Iain are inside there, she is in the best possible hands." Jeff reassured her, Connie shaking her head.

"Right we need to get her out of here now Jeffery!" Dixie called. "She's losing a lot of blood."

"Ok, I'll get a trolley." He shouted back. "Stay there, then we can get you and your misses into hospital ok? How's Ethan, Dix?" Jeff called, but Connie stopped him.

"He's dead." She told him, Jeff dropping his head before dashing off to get a trolley.

By the time Rita was out and on a trolley several more crews had arrived, starting to work on the couple that was in the van.

They were quickly identified to both be on drugs, seemingly the cause of the accident. Connie was immediately next to Rita, holding her hand in her good hand.

"I'm here, Rita I'm right here." Connie promised her, running alongside the gurney into the ambulance.

Dixie also jumped in the back, making sure Connie was strapped in before telling Jeff to floor it.

It took them less than 10 minutes, to make the usually 40 minutes journey, to get to the hospital.

Tess, Charlie and Dylan were all waiting at the door.

"We've booked her straight into theatre. It's pointless going to theatre." He said, taking the trolley off Jeff and taking it to the elevator.

Jeff stopped Dixie, who held onto Connie, openly breaking down in the middle of the ED. Everyone stared as Dixie helped the heartbroken woman into a cubicle.

"Just breathe." Dixie said, her eyes filling with tears as she thought of the possible consequences this could have on Rita and the baby.

Jeff was right behind Dixie, helping to stop Connie from dashing off. He quickly placed an oxygen mask over her face, aiding her breathing.

"Come on, princess." Jeff placed a hand on Connie's shoulder. "They will call down as soon as Rita is out of surgery, you will be the first to know everything." Jeff told her, Connie finally settling down and realising what a fool she had made of herself.

"I'm fine." She said after a while, taking off the oxygen mask and walking out of the cubicle.

But Jeff soon caught her up.

"You need an x-ray for that arm first, I'm taking you whether you like it or not princess." Jeff said, leading Connie to the radiology department. It was nothing but a bad sprain and Connie was fitted with a temporary splint.


	5. I Love You

They walked back to the ED, Charlie waiting for Connie to make a appearance.

"She's ok, she's in ICU…" That's all Connie needed to here before running up the stairs, dashing to Rita.

"Rita… Freeman…" She said breathlessly, the woman telling her to room number. Connie entered to see Rita sat up in the bed, talking to the Nurse. Behind her was a tiny incubator, with an even tinier baby inside.

Connie's voice caught in her throat as her and Rita made eye contact. The Nurse got up and left, leaving Rita and Connie alone together.

"It's a girl." Rita smiled, Connie rushing over to the bed and taking Rita into her arms, both women bursting into tears. "I thought I was going to lose her."

"Me too, I thought I was going to lose you too!" Connie sobbed, kissing the side of Rita's face before pulling back and kissing Rita properly.

"How is everyone else?" Rita asked, Connie walking over to the incubator, poking her hands through the specially made holes to caress the little baby's soft skin.

"Ethan didn't make it…" Connie whispered, not tearing her eyes off the beautiful baby. "Dixie is fine, just cuts and bruises. I've sprained my hand, but I'm fine really." Connie said. "How are you and the baby?" Connie questioned.

"I'm fine, I was starting to miscarry, that's what all the blood was, but they got her back." Rita half smiled, shuffling up so Connie could sit next to her. "She's actually fine, once they got her back she was fine. She's completely healthy, that's why they said she could stay in here." Rita relayed all the information she had.

"I love you so much." Connie pulled Rita close again.

"I love you too." Rita smiled, so happy that all of her family was safe.

 **I KNOW THIS IS A LOT SHORTER THAN STAGE 1, BUT THIS IS WHERE I WANTED TO END IT. LEAVE A COMMENT IN THE REVIEWS IF YOU WANT A STAGE 3!**


End file.
